10,160 research outputs found
Dilaton dominance in the early Universe dilutes Dark Matter relic abundances
The role of the dilaton field and its coupling to matter may result to a
dilution of Dark Matter (DM) relic densities. This is to be contrasted with
quintessence scenarios in which relic densities are augmented, due to
modification of the expansion rate, since Universe is not radiation dominated
at DM decoupling. Dilaton field, besides this, affects relic densities through
its coupling to dust which tends to decrease relic abundances. Thus two
separate mechanisms compete each other resulting, in general, to a decrease of
the relic density. This feature may be welcome and can rescue the situation if
Direct Dark Matter experiments point towards small neutralino-nucleon cross
sections, implying small neutralino annihilation rates and hence large relic
densities, at least in the popular supersymmetric scenarios. In the presence of
a diluting mechanism both experimental constraints can be met. The role of the
dilaton for this mechanism has been studied in the context of the non-critical
string theory but in this work we follow a rather general approach assuming
that the dilaton dominates only at early eras long before Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, 4 figures: Comments and references added, version to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Pre-Inflation in the Presence of Conformal Coupling
We consider a massless scalar field, conformally coupled to the Ricci scalar
curvature, in the pre-inflation era of a closed FLRW Universe. The scalar field
potential can be of the form of the Coleman-Weinberg one-loop potential, which
is flat at the origin and drives the inflationary evolution. For positive
values of the conformal parameter \xi, less than the critical value xi_c=(1/6),
the model admits exact solutions with non-zero scale factor and zero initial
Hubble parameter. Thus these solutions can be matched smoothly to the so called
Pre-Big-Bang models. At the end of this pre-inflation era one can match
inflationary solutions by specifying the form of the potential and the whole
solution is of the class C^(1).Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX, Accepted for publication in MPL
Non-critical String Cosmologies
Non-critical String Cosmologies are offered as an alternative to Standard Big
Bang Cosmology. The new features encompassed within the dilaton dependent
non-critical terms affect the dynamics of the Universe\'s evolution in an
unconventional manner being in agreement with the cosmological data.
Non-criticality is responsible for a late transition to acceleration at
redshifts z=0.2. The role of the uncoupled rolling dilaton to relic abundance
calculations is discussed. The uncoupled rolling dilaton dilutes the neutralino
relic densities in supersymmetric theories by factors of ten, relaxing
considerably the severe WMAP Dark Matter constraints, while at the same time
leaves almost unaffected the baryon density in agreement with primordial
Nucleosynthesis.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, conference tal
Uses of a small field value which falls from a metastable maximum over cosmological times
We consider a small, metastable maximum vacuum expectation value of
order of a few eV, for a pseudoscalar Goldstone-like field, which is related to
the scalar inflaton field in an idealized model of a cosmological,
spontaneously-broken chiral symmetry. The b field allows for relating
semi-quantitatively three distinct quantities in a cosmological context.
(1) A very small, residual vacuum energy density or effective cosmological
constant of ~ lambda b_0^4 ~ 2.7 x 10^{-47}GeV^4, for lambda ~ 3 x 10^{-14},
the same as an empirical inflaton self-coupling.
(2) A tiny neutrino mass, less then b_0.
(3) A possible small variation downward of the proton to electron mass ratio
over cosmological time. The latter arises from the motion downward of the
field over cosmological time, toward a nonzero limiting value as . Such behavior is consistent with an equation of motion.
We argue that hypothetical b quanta, potentially inducing new long-range
forces, are absent, because of negative, effective squared mass in an equation
of motion for -field fluctuations.Comment: version accepted for publication in Mod.Phys.Lett.
Cosmology of biased discrete symmetry breaking
The cosmological consequences of spontaneous breaking of an approximate discrete symmetry are studied. The breaking leads to formation of proto-domains of false and true vacuum separated by domain walls of thickness determined by the mass scale of the model. The cosmological evolution of the walls is extremely sensitive to the magnitude of the biasing; several scenarios are possible, depending on the interplay between the surface tension on the walls and the volume pressure from the biasing. Walls may disappear almost immediately after they form, or may live long enough to dominate the energy density of the Universe and cause power-law inflation. Limits are obtained on the biasing that characterizes each possible scenario
Property of the spectrum of large-scale magnetic fields from inflation
The property of the spectrum of large-scale magnetic fields generated due to
the breaking of the conformal invariance of the Maxwell theory through some
mechanism in inflationary cosmology is studied. It is shown that the spectrum
of the generated magnetic fields should not be perfectly scale-invariant but be
slightly red so that the amplitude of large-scale magnetic fields can be
stronger than G at the present time. This analysis is performed
by assuming the absence of amplification due to the late-time action of some
dynamo (or similar) mechanism.Comment: 8 pages, no figure; references correcte
Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter
We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal
supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may be elementary particles
of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should not
be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak
scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.Comment: 11 page LaTeX file. No major changes. Version accepted by PR
Scattering of Dirac and Majorana Fermions off Domain Walls
We investigate the interaction of fermions having both Dirac and left-handed
and right-handed Majorana mass terms with vacuum domain walls. By solving the
equations of motion in thin-wall approximation, we calculate the reflection and
transmission coefficients for the scattering of fermions off walls.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, some typos corrected, one reference added, major
revisions, title changed, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Expression of the insulin-like growth factor-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptor in multiple human tissues during fetal life and early infancy
The insulin like growth factor-II/mannose-6-phosphate (IGF-II/M6P) receptor has been detected in many cells and tissues. In the rat, there is a dramatic developmental regulation of IGF-II/M6P receptor expression, the receptor being high in fetal and neonatal tissues and declining thereafter. We have systematically studied the expression of the human IGF-II/M6P receptor protein in tissues from 10 human fetuses and infants (age 23 weeks gestation to 24 months postnatal). We have asked 1) whether there is differential expression among different organs, and 2) whether or not the human IGF-II/M6P receptor is developmentally regulated from 23 weeks gestation to 24 months postnatal. Protein was extracted from human tissues using a buffer containing 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate and 2% Triton X-100. Aliquots of the protein extracts were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting using an anti-IGF- II/M6P receptor antiserum (no. 66416) and 125I-protein A or an immunoperoxidase stain. IGF-II/M6P receptor immunoreactivity was detected in all tissues studied with the highest amount of receptor being expressed in heart, thymus, and kidney and the lowest receptor content being measured in brain and muscle. The receptor content in ovary, testis, lung, and spleen was intermediate. The apparent molecular weight of the IGF-II/M6P receptor (220,000 kilos without reduction of disulfide bonds) varied among the different tissues: in brain the receptor was of lower molecular weight than in other organs. Immunoquantitation experiments employing 125I-protein A and protein extracts from human kidney at different ages revealed a small, albeit not significant, difference of the receptor content between fetal and postnatal tissues: as in other species, larger amounts of receptor seemed to be present in fetal than in postnatal organs. In addition, no significant difference of the receptor content between human fetal liver and early postnatal liver was measured employing 125I-protein A- immunoquantitation in three fetal and five postnatal liver tissue samples. The distribution of IGF-binding protein (IGEBP) species, another abundant and major class of IGF binding principles, was also measured in human fetal and early postnatal lung, liver, kidney, muscle, and brain using Western ligand blotting with 125I-IGF-II: as with IGF-II/M6P receptor immunoreactivity there was differential expression of the different classes of IGFBPs in the various organs
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